Cheap Wide Angle Zoom?
They seem to be changing hands for around £250 these days however new ones are reducing all the time too. It might be worth holding out to see if second hand prices drop.
It might be worth trying another 18-55mm if possible.
For about £150 you might find a used Pentax 16-45mm f/4 lens. If so, it's a uperb optic and would be an excellent upgrade.
The price new is way out of my budget.
Mine was bought on a whim (the price was right!:blush and has seen a fair amount of use.
Be aware that as a walk about lens their great for architecture, but not that good for portraits.
K110+DA40, K200+DA35, K3 and a bag of lenses, bodies and other bits.
Mustn't forget the Zenits, or folders, or...
PPG entries.
I had the Sigma 10 -20 F4.- F5.6 and have had some excellent landscapes from it(a number on my gallery on here). It was heavy though (the nature of such a lens for APS-C) so sold it on as others have for £250. I've see the lens new for as little as £320. There is also a newer constant F3.5 version with High Speed motor rather than screw drive.
I'm currently playing with my beautiful tiny 15mm DA Ltd I bought off here. I have the 18 - 135 DA WR for general use.
Price of the DA12-24 skyrocketed to around £900 in 2010-11 but I, along with a number of members, picked the SA 12-24 for £190
Assorted Pentax/Nikon/Mamiya stuff
I can't see many used Sigma 10-20 f4-5.6 about,
Doingthebobs has one for sale on the forum at the moment link
I'm hoping someone else will step in and buy it to remove the temptation
But John's advice seems sound. My experience with the kit lens was good, and folk who have the 16-45 speak very highly of it.
Lenses: Pentax DA 10-17mm ED(IF) Fish Eye, Pentax DA 14mm f/2.8, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8, Pentax-A 28mm f/2.8, Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.2, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-FA 50mm f/1.4, Pentax-A 50mm f/1.7, Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8, Sigma 135-400mm APO DG, and more ..
Flash: AF-540FGZ, Vivitar 283
I would go for the Pentax 16-45 too. Excellent lens.
What do you base this on blincodave, do you own one, or ever used one, had two copies and where no better than the 18-55mm wr..
I would go for the Pentax 16-45 too. Excellent lens.
I've had two in the past, very sharp (especially the second one) but I have also had a couple of excellent copies of the 18-55. The extra width is also useful.
Regards
David
I can highly recommend the Sigma 17-70 2.8 to 4.5. Much better than the 18-55mm kit lens.
This was another option I was thinking of.
I'll take the 18-55 out tomorrow and give it another chance. Maybe I'm expecting too much, especially when comparing it to my DA35mm 2.4 which is so much sharper.
The zoom ring (or whatever it's called) on the 18-55mm does have quite a bit of give along the length of the lens, a few mm at least. Would this affect it?
I took this yesterday with 18-55 mm, although it was using the in camera HDR
I'm wondering why you can't get a decent picture from the 18-55mm, which is a good lens capable of good results. It may be damaged or a poor example.
It might be worth trying another 18-55mm if possible.
For about £150 you might find a used Pentax 16-45mm f/4 lens. If so, it's a uperb optic and would be an excellent upgrade.
My 18-55mm came bundled with my K-R, I think it's the DA L mark I version (at work so can't check). I didn't get a hood with it.
Is the mark II or WR version much better?
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42 posts
12 years
Lisburn
I can't seem to get a decent picture out of the 18-55mm kit lens, for my K-R, and was thinking of replacing with a cheapish wide angle zoom.
I have a DA 35mm 2.4, A 50mm 1.7 and DA 50-200mm, all of which I'm happy with, so was thinking of something in the 17-35mm range.
SRS have a used Sigma 17-35mm f2.8-4 with 12 month warranty for £169.99, and I saw a Tokina 19-35mm f/3.5-4.5 used in excellent condition for £90.
Anyone any experience of these two, or of something better in the same price range?
Cheers,
Neil